Russia's ruling United Russia party has dominated the country's first wartime parliamentary election since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, securing approximately 58% of the vote. The tightly controlled election was held in occupied Ukrainian territories amid severe crackdowns on dissent, including the removal of the anti-war Yabloko party. The final day of voting was marked by an unprecedented wave of over 1,000 Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and other regions, killing five people.
United Russia election dominance
- ▪Russia's ruling United Russia party secured approximately 58% of the vote for the 225 deputies apportioned by party lists with 58% of precincts counted in the September 2026 parliamentary election.
- ▪Four systemic opposition parties that consistently align with Kremlin initiatives—the Communist Party, the Liberal-Democratic Party, New People, and A Just Russia—were poised to return to the State Duma.
- ▪The Russian Central Election Commission reported that voter turnout stood at approximately 56.66% to 57% at the close of the three-day parliamentary election on September 20, 2026.
Opposition suppression during wartime
- ▪Russia's Supreme Court removed the liberal Yabloko party, the only registered political entity openly critical of the war in Ukraine, from the national party-list ballot in August 2026.
- ▪The Yabloko and Communist parties reported that many of their election observers were turned away from polling stations during Russia's parliamentary election held in September 2026
- ▪Russia did not invite election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, drawing criticism from the organization's Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons.
- ▪Russian courts handed down lengthy prison sentences to senior Yabloko figures, including a seven-year sentence for Maxim Kruglov and an 11-year sentence for Lev Shlosberg, for criticizing the military.
Voting in annexed territories
- ▪Russia's parliamentary election held in September 2026 was conducted in Crimea and four illegally annexed Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—which Russia does not fully control
- ▪The European Union and the Ukrainian government denounced the Russian parliamentary voting in occupied Ukrainian territories as illegal and a blatant violation of international law.
- ▪At a polling station in the Russian-held Donetsk region, voters dropped their ballots into boxes in the immediate presence of an armed Russian soldier.
Ukrainian drone attacks
- ▪A drone strike damaged a facility at Moscow's oil refinery on September 20, 2026, sending columns of smoke over the outskirts of the capital as voting was underway.
- ▪Ukraine launched a massive wave of drone attacks on September 20, 2026, with Russia's Defense Ministry claiming to have shot down 1,110 Ukrainian drones across Russia and Crimea.
- ▪Ukrainian drone strikes on September 20, 2026, killed three people in the Moscow region and two people in the Russian-held Kherson region, including an election official.
Kremlin war support narrative
- ▪The Kremlin designed the first wartime parliamentary election since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine to showcase popular support for the war and legitimize Russia's military actions
- ▪Russian authorities presented the results of Russia's first wartime parliamentary election as a demonstration of public unity, with Central Election Commission Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova stating that external pressure had united voters
- ▪The Berlin-based NEST think-tank stated that accumulated public anxiety and economic strain from the war in Ukraine could translate into votes for permitted systemic opposition parties
Debatable claims
- ▪The 2026 election results represent a genuine mandate for Russia's war in Ukraine
- ▪Ukraine's drone strikes during the Russian election were justified
- ▪Foreign governments should refuse to recognize Russia's 2026 election results
- ▪The Russian Supreme Court's removal of the Yabloko party from the ballot was justified
Story comments
Loading comments…